The Road To San Diego (ARMS 130/131 PR)
ipay One Center, San Diego, CA – Mar 15, 2007
Disc 1: Tell The Truth – Key To The Highway – Got To Get Better – Little Wing – Anyday – Anyway The Wind Blows – After Midnight – Who Am I Telling You? – Don’t Cry Sister Cry – Cocaine
Disc 2: Motherless Childres – Little Queen Of Spades – Further On Up The Road – Wonderful Tonight – Layla – Crossroads.
You might find better audience recordings than this but then you won’t get JJ Cale joining EC live for a five number set! San Diegans were the only fortunate ones to witness Cale’s one and only appearance on EC’s tour. Reviews from concertgoers reveal the existence of videocameras in the venue so one could expect something (most probably than everything) from this gig being officially released in the future….. but in the meantime we collectors can own this little piece of history, this little piece of gold on silvers by grace of ARMS.
The show starts with five Derek & The Dominos songs to make you believe you are taken back to 1970, the highlight being a wonderful rendition of Little Wing, before JJ Cale joins the band for “Anyway The Wind Blows”, “Who Am I Telling You?”, “Don’t Cry Sister Cry” and “After Midnight” and an earlier-than-usual “Cocaine” which were performed at a lower pace much a la JJ Cale style. Is this a fantastic set that I don’t get tired of playing and playing and is a real shame this reunion didn’t happen again.
Because of JJ Cale’s appearance, there are no “Outside Woman Blues” or “Running On Faith” performed, but I think the change was just worth it! The remainder of the show saw supersolos on “Little Queen Of Spades” and “Further On Up The Road”. A soulful “Wonderful Tonight” and a powerful-as-usual “Layla” close the show. A very nice “Crossroads” is the single encore for the show but with the presence of Robert Cray to make up for it.
A kind of historical night one enjoys listening to and would love to watch – let’s hope video footage surfaces in the near future… Recommended.
